Devil May Cry: A Hero
by DMC Maniac
Summary: A 15-year old kid by the name of Nero is wandering through the streets where one day he encounters two things: demons and his heritage. This is the story of a hero in the making.
1. Prologue

****Alright, this story was the reason I wanted to do types of stories like this. As you can tell from my name, I am a Devil May Cry FREAK(or bad nerd). There are a lot of things I like about the series, from its amazing combat and interesting characters. I feel a little embarrassed doing this, but better to let it out, right? ...RIGHT?

Anyway, this is just a prologue. By tomorrow I expect to get another chapter out by tomorrow, so hopefully it'll be better than what I put down here =P. This story is just another kind of universe set based off the DMC franchise. Some character traits will be a bit different, but the parts of them the fans like will still remain. Also, Dante is not the main character. Instead it will be Nero, but he will be portrayed differently than his version from DMC4, mainly him not having a demonic right arm.

Enjoy!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero  
><strong>_

**Prologue**

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><p>Sparda<p>

The legend of legends. Called the most powerful being that has ever existed, according to the tales. Though not everyone knows who he is personally, his background, his power, and the effect he's had on others has left them a vague idea of who he is. Given the title of the "Legendary Dark Knight Sparda", those who did believe in him thought of him as the second Savior. Imagine to everyone's surprise in today's time, that he is actually a demon, created by the Devil himself.

Since the beginning of time, sin has made its way into the hearts and souls of mankind. Religious beliefs and leadership were all that those times wanted. But something grew tired of the constant tirade of good versus evil. That was what the Devil had thought of. He decided that humanity was too weak and simple to exist and decided to take matters into his own hands. The Devil had risen an insurrection of monsters called "demons", the pure manifestation of the darkness of Hell and those on Earth. What many don't know is that this plan was no longer being performed by his hand, for he had disappeared after some time. His son, the Prince of Darkness - Mundus - took opportunity of this and decided to take the human world for himself.

Mankind, who became aware of the demonic hostility towards them, decided to wage war to protect themselves. But right from the start it seemed inevitable that the humans would lose. Their primitive tools and weaponry were no match for the evil demons, born as warriors and killers. It seemed that their would be no chance for mankind's survival. However, an unknown factor changed the course of the war to the humans favor. And that was Sparda.

Although Sparda too was a demon, he did not agree with Mundus' idea of human genocide. He decided upon himself to protect humanity from his own kind. With his strength guiding him, and very little support from the humans, he began his own war with the demons. With the mighty power of his blade, a sword also called "Sparda", he vanquished and eliminated the entire demon army. But his greatest challenge was not the army itself.

It was Mundus, the immortal "god" who was stronger than Sparda in every way.

Sparda knew that as long as Mundus had access to a path into the human world, he would always be a threat. Sparda, with all of his power, sealed up all the remaining demons and Mundus back to the demon world. Humanity had been saved by the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda.

For Sparda, as demons cannot die of age, he had decided to live on Earth as its silent protector. 2,000 years after the war was over, he fell in love with a human woman named Eva. They lived a happy and peaceful life. They even had two twin sons named Dante and Vergil. It was a few years later that Eva was pregnant and was expecting their 3rd child. To celebrate the twins 7th birthday, Sparda and Eva gave them each a special amulet as their birthright.

But little did Sparda know, the seal over the demon world had a limit. Taking advantage of the seals weakness, Mundus broke through and returned to the human world once more. To exact his revenge on his traitor offspring, he attacked Sparda and his family. With his powers forever gone, Sparda could not fight Mundus with the same strength he used when he left his murderous race and was brutally beaten to near death. In a cruel twist of fate, Eva was giving birth to their third child, a healthy baby boy. After the child was born onto the world, she had died soon after for unknown reasons.

Sparda, having lost the love of his life and his will to live, decided to seal up Mundus with the only power he had left to stop him. Wishing his sons away so that they can take their newborn brother away from the battlefield, Sparda created another seal that sent Mundus back to the Underworld for an unknown period of time. However, using up the remainder of his power took its toll on him. Dying from his wounds and no more strength left in his body, Sparda had passed away. And so the Legendary Dark Knight died defending the human race once again. 15 years had passed since that day. It was unknown what had happened to the twins, Dante and Vergil. But for the newborn, his story and role in the events to come will be revealed. This is Nero's story…

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><p>Oh no, I've ruined the series! But in seriousness, I don't intend on making cruddy material. Reviews would be great, even if it a prologue chapter!<p> 


	2. A Hero's Beginning

Yayyyy, I got another chapter up! Now I just gotta do the same for my F.E.A.R. stories and I can get back on track! This chapter begins with the main character of my story, Nero, and he will take up the POV of many chapters I have planned out for this adventure. Others will join the fray, but you need the beginning first obviously. If anyone is liking this, then I am happy to hear that! If not, then say so if I can fix anything!

Cool beans, breh! And have fun!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero  
><strong>_

**A Hero's Beginning  
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><p>Today wasn't so bad as the others. Nero was being chased by thugs for stealing their food again. He originally would've told them that he didn't take anything from them this time, but he mainly did it for fun this time. He would've stayed and stand his own ground, but when it came to them bringing in their buddies, he was severely outnumbered. After some more running, he stopped to when he turned the wrong corner to a dead end in an alleyway. He turned around as the thugs gave him looks of murder. If there was anything Nero could do, it was fight like there was no tomorrow.<p>

The 15-year old thought this was total bullshit how all of them brought weapons like bats, brass knuckles, and knives while all he had was his bare fists. They could've at least given him a single brick or trash can for a handicap or something. At least then they had a chance.

"Give us back our fucking food, you little cocksucker!" Said one of the thugs, probably the leader. Nero could only smirk since they decided to mess with him when he was already having a bad day. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't eat and gave a good ass-kicking. "Why the hell should I? The only thing you faggots do is pick fights and talk about getting pussy but ain't gettin' none!" To say he had a potty mouth was a bit of an understatement. He also gave them the finger as a way to further insult them. This of course really pissed off the "tough guys" after his snide remark.

"You asshole! Get him!" All of them began to charge towards the young adolescent, who was actually looking forward to it. Nero never felt truly threatened against anyone even if they had weapons to their advantage. No matter what, he always won his fights despite the odds.

The thugs managed to land a few hits on Nero, surrounding him like ants on a hill. Nero took the blows with full force and only winced at the pain for a short time until he uppercutted the guy to his left. He then began to use all of his strength to move the guys on him towards the wall. After that, he began to use his left fist to knock each guy off him that were still holding on. These punks were really more annoying than difficult to beat up for the tough teen.

Nero kicked the guy behind him in the chest when he tried to tackle him again. The boy then jumped on top of a nearby dumpster and dropped down on two of the guys with his arms, smashing them against the hard ground. When he noticed that the ugly looking bitch was swinging his bat over to his head, Nero grabbed the bat with his right hand and punched him across the face with his left, his good hand.

With the bat in hand, he swung it on at least three of them and knocked away their knives and hit them on the knees. At least, he thought it was three. He wasn't good at math. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of intense pain when someone punched him in the head with brass knuckles. If it were anyone else, that probably would killed him - or just really messed him up.

But not Nero.

No, he wasn't one to go down easily during a fight. He got back up but still felt like crap. The remaining five thugs had looks of amazement and annoyance on their faces. The leader walked in front of Nero and said "Jesus, kid, you just don't know when to die. How bout we help with that?" He punched Nero right on the nose sending him back to the ground.

Ignoring the pain, Nero got back up and charged towards the leader, still running with full force as he tackled him. Using his unnatural strength, he had pushed the leader so far back that his body rammed into the last two of his cronies, sending them all against the hard wood plank at the end of the alleyway. This knocked out the goons since they took the most damage, but the leader got back on his feet after a few seconds. Nero looked at the remaining thugs and they ran away the moment he laid eyes on them. Nero then looked back on the leader.

"Finally, just you and me. I'm gonna finish this with one punch, asshole!" Nero said with utmost confidence. The leader looked back at him and said "You think just because you beat all of my men that you can take me down?" Nero replied "I just kicked your ass even with your men, didn't I?" The leader became very angry, being mocked by some kid probably half his own age. The leader then told him "Kid, you're not going to live to regret this! Your parents won't recognize you after I pummel that face!" Nero gave him a look that sent shivers down the leader's spine.

"Just try and back that up." Nero said with a cold tone.

The leader then quickly ran up to Nero as fast as he could. He brought his right fist with the golden brass knuckles and decked the young teen across the face with everything he had. Nero didn't even try to dodge it. Deep down, he knew it was not necessary. When the punch connected, the leader was surprised as hell that Nero didn't even flinch. To return the favor, the kid pulled back his left hand and gave a similar punch to the older male's right side of his face. He flew back about a couple feet, rolling on the dirty cement clutching his nose in pain.

Nero felt satisfied with another victory under his name today. He would've stayed that way longer, before he had just remembered something. He put his hand into his back pockets of his filthy pants and saw that the bread and grapes he had taken from them were smashed and no good. Nero was so upset over losing some good food, he wanted to go back after the guys who made him ruin it in the first place. But in all honesty, he just did not feel like getting into another fight right now for something he could've avoided. He looked back at the leader of the gang from before and yelled at him: "Look what you did, you bastard! Now I gotta go hungry again for another day!" Nero then left, throwing away the destroyed food on the guy as he continued screaming.

If anyone were to ask him why he just doesn't go home and stay out of trouble, his answer would probably be "I don't have a home." He didn't like it when people felt sorry for him. Made him feel weak. And even if he could live somewhere, he wouldn't be accepted into any type of orphan home due to his violent nature. If he were ever violent, it was only because everyone wanted to beat him up or to kill him. So naturally, he would have to fight back to save himself. Guys like the ones he just fought would always want to do it for fun or just because he looked odd to them. If anything would strike Nero's appearance as "odd", it would probably be his white hair. He had deep cerulean eyes, his face covered in dirt and blood. In the few times that he was able to clean himself up, someone could say that he looked handsome for his age.

The sun was starting to come down as Nero walked through the empty sidewalks. Due to all the old crime that this place had over the years, no one wanted to live here anymore except for some poor families and violent gang members. But that was as much as he knew, for he had only been here for a month and only heard stories. Where he was going, there was a chance that no one would bother him for the night. No one trying to stab him or strangle him in his sleep again. He would go hungry again, but at least he was able to take out his anger on someone.

Little did he know that as the night began to approach, something was following him.

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><p>Once again, reviews would be appreciated!<p> 


	3. Evil Comes and Goes

Awesome! Another chapter! Sorry for the wait for whoever may be reading this! (Probably 1 person) Anyway, I was really busy but i did not forget about updating this story. Had to edit a bunch for this chapter, but I hope it turned out well. This is where things get exciting!

Enjoy the read if you can!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero  
><strong>_

**Evil Comes and Goes  
><strong>

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><p>Nero felt a bit uneasy as he was walking around the city. It was something he just couldn't put his finger on, but he definitely felt like someone was following him. No matter how many alleyways or buildings he passed, it didn't seem to make a difference. Letting his paranoia get the best of him, he turned around and yelled out "Stop following me, asshole!" His shouting was followed by disturbing silence. Nero just thought maybe he's been imagining things. He did get knocked on the head pretty hard earlier. Just when he turned back around, he saw in front of him who it was that has been following him.<p>

In this case, it wasn't "who" it was. It was what "they" were.

They were all very tall figures, a frightening presence surrounding them. Their bodies were not like that of a regular person. At least 7 feet tall with wrecked and weird clothing, they all had a raggedy look. There were red spots on their "heads", giving them the appearance of some kind of face. But what was even more creepy about them was the fact that they were all made of wool and straw.

They looked more like… puppets.

They all had strings on top of them that the top end floats out into the middle of the air. One of them dressed in red had a pirate-looking hat, carrying dual blades with fresh patches of blood on it. The other in blue with a jester hat was wielding blades that look more for throwing than for up-close. And finally, the one in green with a clown face carried a sawed-off shotgun that looked armed.

Looking for a way to defend himself, Nero found a rusty pipe next to a set of garbage cans. Out of his damn mind, he ran forward and swung the pipe at the red puppet's arm. The monster didn't even react to the thin metal slamming it. Instead, it brought up its dagger and cut the pipe in half. Finding it useless, Nero threw the pieces at the green clothed one, but it responded by shooting them with its shotgun. The shotgun dissipated, another one immediately taking its place out of nowhere. It became worse when more of the them began to show up from the alleyways, until there was at least over 30 of them.

"Oh shit..." Nero spoke out lightly, seeing as his odds - and his hopes of escaping alive - started to fade. The only other way out of this was for the police or the fucking army dudes or whatever to come and help him. But the odds of that happening were very small. There is no police in this city for months, and no way any military guys can show up now.

"What do you… things want from me? " Nero asked the monsters standing before him. To his amazement, the one in red spoke without a mouth with an ominous voice came out.

"We have come to kill you, offspring of Sparda."

This was weird. He had no idea who this Sparda guy was. Nero then asked them "Who the hell is that? And what on earth are you guys?" One of them in green responded "We are Marionettes. We were sent by our General to kill you." One of the things in blue - or Marionettes as they're called - raised its blades and twirled them several times. "Die!" it yelled as the blades were thrown towards him. Two of them had impacted his right arm and his left leg.

The white haired boy screamed in dreadful agony.

This wasn't just a simple stab by a blade. There was something on these things that gave him some kind of sting, one that he could not explain. The child's senses started to grow weaker as he kneeled to the floor. There was no way for anyone to help him here. He was going to die...

To the boy's wonder, the pain went away.

Nero looked back at the blades inside of his body. He couldn't feel them anymore. And it wasn't because he had become weak. It was as if they were barely an issue to him. Curious as to why, he grabbed the hilt of one of them as he took it out of his leg. There still was no pain. Again, he took out the other one from his arm, surprised to find out his body did not feel anything. Right after they were taken out, his open wounds then suddenly closed up. There was no scars either.

It was like he was never hurt in the first place.

"Healing." the green one said out loud. Nero looked at it with a puzzled face. The blue puppet then said "This could be a problem." "Not to worry. He won't survive a nice cut across his neck..." Replied the red one. Nero was too confused over what was happening right now that he wasn't sure where to begin. As they were approaching him, Nero stood back up as he braced himself for whatever they could do next. The white-haired teen was so distraced with all that was happening in front of him, that he did not notice that another red puppet was behind him. The creature raised its blade for his head...

In a flash, the one behind Nero was blown back.

Nero looked back to see what had happened, only to see that the Marionette had several holes across its chest. It dissipated in a pile of hay with a purplish cloud coming out from the remains. The puppets looked behind them to see what killed one of their own.

It was a young man in his late 20's with two pistols in his hands. One of them was white in his right hand, and the other was black held by his left.

Nero looked at the man with amazement. This guy had the same white hair as himself and even the same blue eyes. Really, he looked like a older version of Nero, except taller and more buff. He had on a large red trench coat with multiple pockets, a black t-shirt underneath, dark brown pants, black leather boots, and fingerless gloves. He had a sly smile across his face as he looked at the creatures.

"Killin' someone when they're not looking isn't exactly fair. Whoa, wait a minute, that's exactly what I just did..." the man in red said in shame. All of the monsters reacted to his presence with what appeared to be fear. At least, as much fear as you could tell from their blank expressions.

"It's him! Retreat!" Said the green one. "No, we have our orders!" Responded one of them in blue. "The general wants this boy dead and that is what we will do!" The man in red then shouted "Sorry guys, but I'm not getting paid by the hour. I'm afraid I'm gonna have to finish this quick." He twirled both his pistols with style, pointing the two at the monsters between Nero and himself. He fired so many rounds at them, that there was no way he could have all those bullets in them. How come he never had to reload...?

The man in red seemed to be enjoying himself. All of the puppets tried to swing their blades at him, but he just dodged them so fast that Nero could barely tell where he was going. Their numbers swiftly from 30 to only 6 in half a minute. He fired the last of his shots on the remaining puppets, no chance for them to defend themselves. He twirled his guns onto his back belt with a look of satisfaction on his face.

It wasn't until Nero noticed another of the those things behind the man that was ready to fire a shotgun blast right towards his head

He wasn't sure why he didn't tell his savior that the thing was behind him. Rage and adrenaline took over, his legs rushing him towards them. He flew past the man in red as he brought his left fist back. Pushing it forward with all the strength he carried, he decked the puppet right to its chest. The impact was so powerful, the Marionette was sent flying towards a wall. The moment it connected with the building, its body was split apart into several pieces. All that was left was nothing but hay and its clothing.

What the hell did he just do?

The gunslinging warrior had observed what had just happened. He was fully aware of the creature planning to blow his brains out and easily could have struck it down without resistance. But he sure didn't think the kid would actually go up to it and attack it. The man looked back at what remained of the creature, then over to the confused adolescent. He walked up to the child with white hair and said "Nice, man! We sure showed them!" The man in red but his arms across his chest as he gave off that sly smile again.

Nero looked over at him with a shocked expression written all over his face. After calming himself down, he then asked this man the only question that came to mind.

"Who are you?"

"The name's Dante, and I'm your older brother."

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><p>Reviews would be appreciated please!<p> 


	4. An Unlikely Ally

Another long wait for one chapter! I gotta get my priorities straight here. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, small as they are. Hopefully I can change that with this chapter, but I had some serious writers block lately that may be incurable... for a week or so maybe.

Have fun, fellow DMC fans!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero  
><strong>_

**An Unlikely Ally  
><strong>

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><p>Dante knew this was going to happen. First came the asskicking he delivered to those puppets, then the big reveal, and then there would be 20 questions. After he explains everything to this kid, he's getting himself some relaxation and a shitload of pizza.<br>"What... did you just say...?" Nero asked him as shocked as someone in his position can be.

"The name's Dante, and I'm your...". He was then interrupted when Nero said "That I understood". "Well in that case, why would you ask it in the first place? Stupid kid..." Dante muttered that under his breath quietly, Nero growing upset from being called stupid. "Say that again asshole!"

Yeah, this was definitely his brother.

Dante told him "Before we get to the whole me kicking your butt around, I'm sure you have lots and lots of questions. But we will get to that in a little bit." Nero started to calm down a bit, but was still upset for this guy talking to him like that.

"Alright, kid, how bout we get a bite to eat?" Dante said, pointing at a closed restaurant down the street. "Come on, kid. Since there ain't no pizza place near here, we might as well settle on some snacks." Dante started walking towards the restaurant with the teen keeping his distance from him, thinking to himself how odd of a guy this Dante person was. When they reached a small gas station, Dante grabbed the handle of the door and, surprisingly, broke it open with no trouble.

"Whoa, whoa, ain't this breaking and entering or something?" the young teen said. Dante replied "Of course it's breaking and entering!" As if completely missing the point, Dante walked forward and went over Dante went around back and grabbed a bunch of chips and pop for the both of them and put half of them on the counter. "Here, kid. Seeing as you look like you haven't eaten since you were born, chow down."

Nero took them all and started to fiercely consume the products. He ate faster than an hobo would if he had a lifetime or two supply of food. "Man, don't you ever slow down?" Dante asked him. He barely even finished his first round of junk food and Dr. Pepper. "Naw, I always eat fast, and not just because I'm hungry." Nero tried to say with a mouthful of food. At least his manners were decent.

When Nero got done eating everything Dante gave him, he decided that now was the best time to confront him on what he just said "So... you said that you're my brother. Is that... really true?". Nero still could not believe everything that happened. Whether if it was the fact giant fucking puppets came to kill him from out of nowhere, or that a guy who looks just like him claimed to be related to him - he wasn't sure what to make of this.

Dante finished his drink before he could tell the young man "Yes, it is true. For the longest time, I thought that you were dead. But me and some good... friends, were able to figure out where you were." Dante walked around the store to figure out what he wanted, but had no idea what. All Nero could do was just stand there, leaning on the counter trying to make sense with what he just heard.

So he really does have a family. A brother at least, but still someone he is related with. But how could he talk to him? What can he say...?

Nero turned towards his older brother and asked him the first question on his mind. "Were are our parents?". Dante stopped walking through the place with his back to him. After a few seconds of silence, Nero meant to ask him again only for Dante to quickly say "You'll know later. Right now, I can't tell you." That wasn't the answer he expected to hear. Why did he not want to tell him?

Seeing as how he wouldn't answer that question, maybe he can ask him one that he could explain."You called that a "demon", right? What did you mean by that?" Dante looked outside through the window to see if something was out there. Bringing his attention back to Nero, he tried his best to explain it in a way for this guy to understand.

"Demons. The most vile, evil sons of bitches that prey on the innocent. Those things we saw earlier are called 'Marionettes'. They are artificial puppets controlled by evil souls from Hell." This caught the kid's attention. "What did they want with me?" "They wanted to kill you. Get rid of you now before you became a problem for them later." Nero looked at him curiously on what he meant by that. "How could I be a problem to those things? If anything, you would be more of a threat to them than I ever could be."

Dante replied "Yeah, I do kick ass, don't I? But trust me, those were only the lower-class scums. They probably didn't see you as a total threat yet otherwise they would've sent the stronger ones after you." Nero folded his arms, thinking of how all his life, he still has both regular people and real monsters still trying to kill him. Can't catch a break anywhere.

"I got another question." Nero said to him. "When they attacked me, they threw several blades to me. After a while, I was not hurt anymore. And when I took them out, my wounds closed. Why is that?" Dante had a serious expression all across his face. He opened his mouth and said "Well, like me, you have powers that I guess are now working. The body healing from any wound is pretty useful when you face someone who is quite a heavy hitter. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg."

Now that he thought about it, some things in his life started to make some sense. When he usually got into a fight - like earlier today - he would take some serious blows to the head or body that most people could not walk away from. But whenever it happened to him, he could stand up just fine and no injuries could be shown. And if Dante was right, then he has even more than just that.

Dante grabbed another bag of potato chips after a while and opened he was eating them out of the bag, he spoke "Oh yeah, and also, it seems you are showing signs of advanced strength. You know, like when you punched that Marionette and sent him all the way over to that building. I'm guessing you've never noticed that neat trick before."

Nero tried to remember when the last time something similar to that may have occurred. As far as he could tell, he never was able to pull of a feat such as that before in his life. All these abilities he was getting, and there were more coming later?

But there was still one thing that didn't make sense.

"How come I can do all of this? And" Nero asked his older brother. Dante was about to answer until they both heard a ringing noise. Dante pulled out a cell phone out of one of his front pockets from his coat as he looked at it. He sighed for a moment and put the phone back in his jacket. He looked over at Nero and said "That will have to wait. We gotta get going."

Dante was exiting the store as kicked the front door open with a slight kick. Nero soon followed him as Dante was walking around the area where those puppets came from. "W-Wait, going where!" Nero shouted at him with Dante not responding to him. They later stopped when Dante walked up to some kind of motorcycle further down the street. He sat on top of the seat and looked over to the white-haired teen.

"We are going to meet with some people who can help you. They will be able to answer everything you are curious about, and help you understand just who we are. But I warn you, you may not like what you hear."

Dante started the engine of his bike as he looked like he was getting ready to leave. Nero walked up next to him as he was thinking about everything that has happened. Whether or not he would like what might happen next did not matter. He needed to know who he was and where he came from.

Nero got on the motorcycle behind Dante as he held on to his chest. Nero told him with confidence "I think I can handle it." His older brother was happy to hear that. He really was just like him. Before they were on their way, Dante looked over to his shoulder to look at the kid.

"Hey... What's your name?"

"Nero... You're Dante right? Not a bad name."

Dante smiled as both him and his brother began to take off. "Neither is yours" he said quietly, his brother now resting his head on his back. Maybe he was really tired and just needed something to be comfortable with. Yet, despite this "family bonding" moment that they were sharing together, there was only thing Dante thought about during the ride.

This kid could use a shower.

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><p>I'm awesome and I know it ^_^ but seriously, reviews would be cool, please!<p> 


	5. Preparations

I am so sorry for taking so long to update! School is almost over, which leaves me more free time to work on this and other ideas I want to do. If anyone is still curious about this story, then here is a chapter for your appetite to have. This one took some serious rewrites, and its still too short! But I promise the next one will have lots of reading material for you all ^_^

Here you go!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero  
><strong>_

**Preparations  
><strong>

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><p>It didn't take too long for Dante to take Nero where they were supposed to go. Probably about 2 hours at the most. Nero finally awoke, his eyes trying to their best to remain open. He looked around to see Dante riding past some warehouses. Just as he was about to ask him where they were at, he turned around the next corner. He stopped the motorcycle in front of a large kind of cruise ship. It was very fancy-looking, with all types of neat design frames across the entire ship.<p>

"Hey, what are we doing here?" Nero asked him. Dante stopped the motorcycle a few seconds after Nero said that just in front of where the small bridge led to the enormous vessel. Dante got off the bike with Nero following him after. Dante turned back to his little brother and said "This ship will help take us where you need to go. There are some people who want to meet and talk to you." As Dante was gesturing for Nero to go ahead, he told him on the way "And by the way, if anyone asks, I did not steal that bike."

"Wait, what?" Nero almost stuttered as Dante ignored him.

Both of them arrived at their destination. There was nobody there to greet them, for the entire ship seemed to be empty. Nero looked around to see if maybe he was missing someone, but could not see anyone. Dante grabbed his head with his fingertips and moved Nero's head to the left from the bow.

Nero could see two figures walking over to where they were. The shortest one was an old woman, with very slight dark skin. She had on a silk round hat over her head, dressed in a green robe, and wearing dark sandals. A red bag was over her shoulder, but it seemed to be packed lightly. She was slightly hunched back, using a brown cane to help her walk.

The other was a taller woman, around the same height as Dante. She was a tanned, dark woman with green-hazel eyes. She was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, typical blue jeans, and black tennis shoes. What made this lady stand out was her long red hair. She had most of it covering the left side of her head, a long ponytail hanging off to the side. She looked very attractive from where he was standing.

Both of them walked up to the two white-haired guys as Dante crossed his arms. The two women approached them as they looked over to Nero first. The older woman got closer to the teenager as a gentle smile was across her face. She told him "It is a good day to have met you at last, young man. I am so relieved to know that you are alive."

Nero was totally unsure what to say of this. Was he supposed to know these people or something? He nervously said "Umm, listen, umm, stranger, but what is this about?". The older woman looked over to Dante and asked him "You did not tell him everything?". Dante had an annoyed tone, responding back "I'd rather have you two do it. Exposition and the whole explaining parts you are best suited for."

Dante started to walk over to the door over at the center where the bridge was. He shouted out "I'll be expecting to be at the place in a few hours, so I'm going to have me some grub and a clean shower. See ya soon, kid." He entered the interior of the ship, leaving Nero dumbfounded on what to say. This guy who says is his brother after all this time, and he leaves him alone with these people?

"I apologize for his behavior. He means well, but has a terrible way of showing it." the taller woman told Nero. She had some kind of accent that he wasn't sure what it was. Everyone really just talked funny to him at times, so he was no expert in figuring out where they were from. The older woman then said "It appears there is much for you to learn about yourself. How about we get yourself set up and then we will explain everything." She looked over at the red-haired woman, saying "Lucia, my dear, can you take this young man and get him ready? I believe he will most enjoy it."

"Yes, mother. I shall." This "Lucia" said to what he heard was her mother. Got to say, looking at the both of them, there was no way this old hag could be this girl's mother. Way too old, if you asked him. Lucia gestured Nero to follow her as he was walking behind her. They entered the ship and descended down the red carpet stairs.

This place was real nice, actually. The lights inside made it look real cool, almost like a rich family would own. Maybe that's who they are, just a bunch of expensive people deciding they are up for adoption. But all joking aside, Nero was curious as to what they wanted from him. Trying to think of the words to say to them, the young woman spoke first.

"Let me guess. You have no idea if you should trust us. Well I can assure you that there is nothing to fear. Where we are going, you will enjoy very much." Lucia told him.

Well, that was nice to hear. But that still didn't quite make him feel sure of what to make of these people. He asked the woman "I'm not that worried about where I'm going. I've been to lots of places before. I'm just wonderin' WHY you are doing this. I don't even know what you want from me."

Before she could tell him, they both stopped in front of a well designed door. The numbers "4132" were at the top. Lucia took out a few keys and used one of them to unlock it. "All of the questions you have will be answered in good time. But for now, it is best for you to get cleaned up first." They entered the small room with two beds, a couple dressers, and a white bathroom next to the entrance.

"There is a nice bath all ready for you. I got it all nice and warm for you since I'm sure you have not taken one in a very long time. After you are done, there are some clothes in here you can try out. There are some for all types of sizes, so you should be able to find some that match your size. I will be back in an hour to check up on you. If you need any more time, that is okay. Is this alright for you?"

Wow, now that is service. Without even looking at her, Nero said "I'm sure that will work... thanks, Lucia." He entered his "new room" and just was so amazed how cool it was. For the first time in his life, he is staying at a place without rats crawling around him, or people waking him up by tossing him against a wall. As Lucia was about to close the door, she stopped for a moment to say "And by the way, you don't have to cover for him. I know that he stole the motorcycle. But we will just keep that between us, okay?". She smiled slightly as Nero was almost ready to laugh hearing that. At least she thought it was funny.

"He will like that, I bet." Nero smiled at her. She closed the door after he said that, leaving him an entire room to mess around with. He will definitely say that getting all this crap and stink off of him is the first thing he wants to do. As he was taking off his clothes, he was thinking over what they could possibly tell him. He remembered something those Marionettes said earlier, just before Dante saved him. Something about him being the "offspring of Sparda." Maybe this Sparda guy has something to do with everything that's happened.

"I wonder if the guy is famous" Nero whispered out loud. Guess he will find out pretty soon.

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><p>Oh, he's famous all right. But he will figure all that out next chapter! Reviews would be nice, please!<p> 


	6. The Truth

Okay, for anyone who may have ever READ this story before, I am soooooo sorryyyy for not updating this in what I believe to be two months since my last chapter. To make it up to you all, I am going to be updating with TWO chapters at the same time, so that way you get some material for what I have written. Personal life experiences have swayed me away from this fun little project, but no more after today. From now on, I will put more focus back into this and other stories for the future! Anyway, back to my monologue!

Now I am going to have up Chapters 6 and 7, with this one being the hardest to illustrate out of my "special" head. _ So here you go, and hope you enjoy what I have produced for you guys! Once again, I do not own any material of the DMC series from Capcom and the Japanese people who are responsible for the coolness of the series.

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero**_

**The Truth**

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><p>The warm bath water made Nero's skin feel so good. He could not remember the last time he felt this clean in his life, or if ever he did. After some time getting himself cleaned up, he exited the tub with a towel hanging off the sink. He wasn't sure how to drain the water, since its not like he knows how to work one, so he just left it as it is. Maybe they can get someone to take care of it.<p>

He searched the drawers near the bed for anything that would fit on him. The best he could find was just a plain white shirt with black pants. After putting on some socks, he looked around for any shoes but couldn't find any. He jumped over to one of the beds and just relaxed there for several minutes. It had been a long time since he laid down on a bed. Hell, it had been a long time since he laid down on anything nice at all. There were a couple knocks on his door. It was Lucia.

"Nero, are you there?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm here. What is it?" he responded back to her, sitting up from the bed.

"Just checking up on you. May I come in?"

"Yeah you can." he told her as she opened the door.

"Good, looks like you're all set. Are you ready to talk to Mother?" Lucia asked him.

To be honest, Nero was a little nervous. There are so many questions he could ask, but yet was having trouble over which ones he should ask first. Like who he was, who were his parents, what happened to them, and what these guys want from him. There was really one way to get a good answer from them.

"Let's go." he said to her as he stood up to follow her.

Lucia gestured Nero to follow her as they went through several corridors, passing through several empty rooms. Despite that this ship was very cool-looking, this also made him feel a little cautious. How exactly can these people pay for a sweet cruise like this all for themselves but only need it for him to get on. And where are they going to anyways?

Eventually, they reached a large dining hall where he guessed a lot of people would eat during dinner. Out of all the tables and chairs, the only one that was filled was the one with Lucia's mother, that Matier woman. She looked over to see both Nero and her daughter enter, a warm smile etched over her face. "Ah, wonderful to see you" she said, her voice echoing the place. "Please, sit." she told him, with an open spot for a chair all set up for him.

Nero hesitantly sat down across from the older woman, with Lucia sitting over next to her mother. It was quiet for a few minutes, with Nero unsure if he should start talking or waiting for them to do so. He looked around to see if maybe Dante was coming, but didn't see him anywhere. What could he be doing at a time like this?

"Dante is not going to be joining us today. He has to do something before we reach our destination" Matier told him, with Nero looking back at her. Still unsure of how to start, he asked the first question that came to mind.

"Who are you guys?"

Matier's smile slowly faded as she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again she said "Before we reveal who we are, first it would be better for you to know who YOU are. But I warn you, you may or may not be ready for what we have to tell you. Do you understand?"

"Yes" he told her right away. He waited a very long time to know who he is. There is no way he could back away from a chance like this. The older woman then asked him an unusual question.

"Tell me, why is your name Nero?" she said to him. What does this have to do with anything? It's just who he is. He got that name from...

...

How did he get his name?

"You are unsure as to why you have it, am I correct? If so, then I feel like I can elaborate on that." Matier told him, with the young man wondering how she could know a thing like this. Was she like a magic witch or something?

"The name 'Nero' is one that your parents gave to you. Usually with people like yourself, you cling to memories that give yourself a sense of character at a young age. And thus, 'Nero' was the one you held on to for your life because the way your brain operates allows you to recall an event such as that, even from your birth. Does that make sense, child?"

He wasn't a genius, but some of that he could understand. It took him a couple of minutes to figure out what she meant, but maybe it was true. As he got older when he used to live in different cities, when people down the filthy streets would ask what his name was, the name "Nero" would come to mind immediately. Over time, he just accepted it and never questioned it before... until now.

"You want to know about your parents next, I presume?" Matier asked him, with Nero a little afraid to ask about them. What if they aren't who he should expect? What if they hated him?

"Now understand that what I am about to tell you, it may be hard for you to believe. But I promise you, that what I tell you is indeed the truth. Are you ready?" She asked him. Whether or not this is something he will believe, he will take any answer she gives him.

He was ready.

"Tell me about them." he demanded with a low voice.

"Those things that you saw earlier... the Marionettes you and Dante fought off... they were 'demons'. They are monsters born of evil, created to kill and follow the wills of their masters. The demons want nothing but death and carnage on those they deem weaker than them. The reason they attacked you may have been you were going to be dangerous for them or maybe for revenge." Matier explained to him. But what on earth does this answer about his parents? Is she fucking messing with him?

"A long time ago, a single demon decided to fight for the human race's survival. He took up his blade to strike against his own kind, for the right of humanity to live. His name was Sparda."

Sparda... He heard that name before. Those things said it before they were trying to kill him.

"Who was he?" he asked her.

"Sparda... is your father, Nero."

...

"What...?" he softly spoke to her. His father... was a demon?

Hearing those words from the older woman made his mind wander. Why should he believe anything she has to say? She seriously expects him to think that his dad was one of those things he saw earlier? Of all the stupidest...

"Whether you believe what your father was is up to you, but the fact remains that he was a demon - not in the similar forms as the ones you encountered before - but a part of their species. But unlike them, he chose a different path. A path that led him to do the unthinkable, not only for his heritage, but one for the human race."

Sarcastically, Nero told the woman "Oh yeah? Like what? Owning the first 'demonic hotel' in Canada? Despite his joking, Matier did not show humor to his remark.

"He left behind his home in the Underworld to fight for us, the human species. He abandoned his murderous instincts to save all the men, women, and children of the Earth. Your father would later become a hero."

A hero...?

His father... a demon... was a hero to people?

This shit was unbelievable. So supposedly his father - Sparda, or whatever - wasn't some drunk sitting on his ass, but instead was a "savior" to all the people on this planet from the big bad "demons" he and Dante saw. Just how is he supposed to take this seriously when she has no way to convince him other than a couple of sentences?

"Oh yeah, show me proof that he was this "awesome demon fella" who had the power to take down a bunch of tough guys like those demons you're talking about." Nero demanded from the older woman. Lucia looked back and forth at the two of them talking, almost as if she wanted to say something. But she took pause and let her mother be the one to explain this to him.

"The proof is closer than you think, son of Sparda. You have seen and experienced it for yourself all these years. It was until today that you caught a real first glimpse of what that is. The proof that you seek is inside you... It is in your blood."

"My blood...?" he whispered quietly.

"Yes. I heard that almost yesterday you fought a group of armed thugs because they caught you stealing. You fought back, and won despite their numbers and age. All that damage you inflicted upon them probably knocked them out faster than anyone your age and size could do otherwise. Am I correct?" she explained to him. How did she know? Did Dante tell her?

"And when you encountered the demonic puppets, they were able to throw their weapons towards your body. From what Dante described to me, you were soon unfazed from the blades inside you and took them out without you bleeding out or any exposed wounds to be seen. And when your brother took care of them all, you destroyed the last one with just a single strike. That, I can assure you, is not something that the average human is capable of. Do you see what I mean here?"

"I... That was..." Nero tried to respond back, but what almost at a lost for words of how to finish his train of thought. He was too confused to figure out how to respond to everything she is telling him. But the more she explained it, the more sense it made to him. There was really only one explanation for who he is.

His father was a demon. And so was he.

Nero looked at his hands as he brought them up slowly. In his mind, he kept repeating to himself in his head about how what he was seeing wasn't real. That under the skin was something not human. Of all the years were everyone he had ever met in his life who would say "He's not right!" or "He's not like the others!" started to become true. He really was an outsider...

Matier took notice of his trouble state. She then told him "I understand what you may be feeling. Like I told you, the truth was not going to be what you expected. But believe me on this for what you are." Nero looked up at her in curiosity, wondering what she could say to describe him. "While you are indeed a demon like your father, you are still a human being, just like your mother. You share the best of what both human and demon have to offer, and we can help you come to peace with that - if you let us."

His mother was a human as well? He had to know who she was. "What was her name? And where is she?" Nero asked desperately. Before Matier could answer that, he kept thinking in his head over why he didn't say "where THEY are", meaning both his parents. As far as he could guess, maybe he was wondering what she looked like. His supposed "father" can wait for later.

"Your mother was a beautiful woman. She was very caring, and treasured the lives of those close to her. Her name was Eva." she told him.

Eva... It was such a simple name, but one that he would never forget. But the older woman still did not answer where she was.

"Where is she?" Nero asked more fiercely. Matier closed her eyes, almost looking like she did not want to tell him. As the anticipation was overwhelming him, he stood up from his seat and shouted "WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS MY MOTHER! WHERE IS MY DAD!". His voice echoed all over the dining room, the intensity of his anger clearly getting to him, but he did not care. He needed the answers now.

Looking at her, Matier showed even more tension in her face. Her daughter Lucia was concerned over the boy's fury. He felt like if he were to lash out any more than he did, the red-headed woman would say something to him. He didn't care.

"Nero, as much as it pains for me to say this, it is probably for the best that you hear the truth. Both of your parents - Sparda and Eva - are dead." Matier explained to him.

In that instant, the whole world seemed to have stopped for him. He could no longer hear anything, feel anything, or see anything. What she had told him had sent him into a state he had never been in before. He wasn't sure what to make of this, or why he was in it. It was as if he was turned into ice, unable to do anything to break himself free. The truth was revealed to him.

His parents were dead. For his whole live, he had some small hope deep in his chest that one day he would meet them, even if they were not what he would expect. And now, he was shot down of that hope with what Matier told him.

So much time must have passed, for it felt like hours when it was probably minutes after she told him that they were gone. He had to know why. Everything around him was catching up to him as he could now bring himself back into a decent thought process. He spoke quietly with just a simple word.

"How?"

"The day you were born, your parents were preparing to welcome you into the world. Your brothers were about 7 at the time and were excited for your arrival as well. Unfortunately, something unexpected happened. A portal to the human world opened up from the Underworld, allowing the demons to return to this planet. Back when they first invaded, the demons were sealed away by your father to prevent them from attacking the human race. But somehow, they were able to temporarily open the gate. And since your father used almost all of his power to seal them the first time, he was unable to fight them again out of his prime." She began to explain a little bit to Nero.

"With his strength depleted, your father was defeated, leaving your family at the mercy of the demons. The exact details are not known to us, but what Dante said he saw, your mother was eventually attacked by the monsters. Before she had died, she went into labor and gave birth to her third child. That was you, Nero." Hearing all of this made him feel very cold inside. All of this sounded like a nightmare...

"After she had died, your father did the best he could to save all of you. Using what little power he had left in his body, he recreated another seal to send the demons back to the dark realm where they came from. But in doing so, it cost him his life. After we found out what happened, all of us tried to do what we could, but all of you were gone. You and both of your brothers were nowhere to be spotted, and the bodies of your parents were nowhere to be found. We can only assume that something happened to have... "destroyed" their bodies." Matier explained it all to him. He could tell that from all of this, she was showing signs of sorrow and regret for even telling him this. And to be honest, he didn't blame her.

Hell of a way for him to be born in the world.

"You said... something about my brothers..." Nero desperately tried to put the words together, for he was still in shock of what he just heard. "Besides Dante... who was the other? Is he... dead?" He struggled to put it like that, worrying what more bad news he could hear. Instead of the older woman telling him this, Lucia decided to take her place in explaining this to him. Maybe she didn't want her mother to continue over what happened.

"Other than Dante, you had another brother who was also his twin. From what I heard, the both of them got along very great and were nice children. After the attack, Dante - reluctantly - told us that he was killed that day as well. His name was Vergil."

Vergil... Eva... Sparda...

They were all dead. Those fucking monsters wanted revenge at his father for stopping their evil ways, and decided to take it out on his family. Now all that was left for him was just his other brother, Dante. Other than him, the only thing close to "family" were the same ones Sparda betrayed from in the first place.

Some family he had now.

For a while, no one had anything left to say. Honestly, he wasn't sure what else he could ask from them. He had never felt this worse in his whole life, and even though he was here with Dante, Lucia and her mother... He never did feel more alone.

A weird noise was heard just across from where he looked over to Lucia as she pulled some kind of white object out of her front pocket. She looked at one side of the device and turned towards her mother saying "We are going to arrive soon. I suggest we start to get ready to leave once the ship reaches its destination."

Matier nodded her head as she slowly stood up from her chair. Both of them looked over at the young man who had never before been this quiet in his life. Matier stood in front of him and gave a warm, gentle touch to his arm with her hand. Looking at her eyes, he could tell from her face that while she did feel sorry for him, she still wished to help him.

"I am sorry that you had to go through all this. It is not fair for you to be thrown into a life such as this. We are not your family, but we are still here to help you figure out what to do after today. Soon, we will reach a special place. There, you can make up your mind about your future."

If what she said is true, then maybe he can find something to do with his life. If he is going to get stronger, then maybe he can get revenge for what those bastards have done to him. They will suffer.

"Thank you... for telling me." he softly said to her. A special place, huh?

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><p>Okay, now for Chapter 7! Hope you guys enjoy this and don't forget to leave reviews for this so you can complain about my cruddy writing and procrastinating ways!<p> 


	7. Darkness

Alright, now for the double dose of chapters from the DMCManiac! For those unaware if they skipped my entry for Chapter 6, I procrastinated HEAVILY from updating this story so I felt a bit bad about it. So, I decided to upload not one, but TWO chapters right away. I'll admit, this one is a lot shorter compared to the previous one, but it is to give an early perspective of what those wacky demons are doing. I planned to have them show up later on, but felt like doing an early show for the guys, so lucky you!

Once more, I do not own any content of the Devil May Cry games, anime, books, manga, etc etc. from both Capcom and their developers. But boy, I wish I did.

Have fun!

_**Devil May Cry: A Hero**_

**Darkness  
><strong>

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><p>Today was a good day. Bones broken by their claws, blood dripping down like fountains, screams that would make the hair on your neck stand straight up. They were exhilarating to the demons. It wasn't long before they were ordered back to their posts after the carnage they delivered to the innocent. It was bullshit. One minute they're ordered to search for this one kid and kill him, and the next they're being ordered back like dogs. Servitude was really a pain in the ass. The demons had all lined up into some abandoned building that no one would be inside. A magical orb as tall as a support beam opened up in front of them. The demons entered it one by one until they had all stepped through.<p>

They were back in Hell. Some people probably think Hell is just a place where sinners go to get punished for eternity cause they weren't viewed worthy for Heaven. Or some think of it as a giant oven that never runs out of flames.

Lies.

Hell is much more different. And it's not all that depressing now that they think about it. It looks alright to be in. There's lighting coming in like they're in a cave, rocks that could make for a good hammock. Maybe they're just saying that because it suits they're wicked ways, but who cares. Of course, this was just one part of Hell they domain in, with countless others scattered across this realm. They were brought back for a reason and they need to know why.

"Damn, I only killed 3 children today. I wanted an older woman, not a bunch of three year olds." "Oh shut up, at least you killed something, I only ate a freaking cat!" "Hey, that creature was mine to eat! The food here sucks and you eat it without letting me know!" "Oh shut up, all of you, acting like a bunch of brats…" This is usual. Every time they come back from one task or another, they would always complain over who killed what. Food here was horrible, but still no excuse that the only thing we eat are people and family pets. We better be summoned back for a reason cause if we aren't…

The General stood before them before they even realized he was there. His appearance was cloaked. No one knows why, everyone knew what he looked like anyway. So why wear the robes?

Before anyone could ask, the General said "I only told you to kill one boy. Not 11 humans. Do you have an explanation for yourselves?" The demons were about to speak before the General said "Never mind. The child managed to escape our surveillance. Squad 17 didn't report back in, apparently. I am sure we can guess as to why."

This is true. Squad 17 was never late for anything. Obedient little bastards, if you ask me. With them not returning, it meant one thing. The demon hunter - Dante - managed to get to the child first and eliminate them. It's the only reason.

One of us then told him "I'm sorry, sir, but we couldn't find him anywhere. So, while we got sidetracked, we decided to…". Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the General "To have fun?" he spoke calmly. This was bad. He does not like it when we would place pleasure before duty. He demanded obedience and servitude to whatever he would say, or death be the price.

"Well, yeah, I guess…" The next thing we knew, a spear materialized out of nowhere and struck our sibling right through the throat. He was still alive before the spear rotated vertically inside his body. At that point, the only thing left was a lot of blood and his body split in half. None of us dare spoke out after that.

The General looked at us when the spear went towards his hand. "Listen, and listen well. I ordered you to kill that child. Simple as that. And until you were to accomplish that objective, you were to await for further instructions. But that does NOT mean to make a scene in the human world where we would become noticeable. Those were his orders. But, I am going to be generous today to all of you." The rest of us were tensed up in shock. He was going to spare us?

"I am not going to kill the rest of you for disobeying your orders, since I have made my point clear to you for what would happen if you do so again. However, if all of you decide not to take my generosity and repeat your mistakes again, I promise that your death will not be as quick as his was. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone nodded. With an offer like that, you would have to be crazy not to disagree with the guy.

"Excellent." He began to walk away, leaving all of us wondering what to do now. One of the other demons shouted "Wait, don't you want us to search for him still?" The General stopped but kept his back towards us. "No. He is under protection by his older brother, which none of you will be able to defeat. And if this boy is beginning to show signs of his powers increasing, then none of you will last against him."

He turned his head to look back at us, his face still obscured in shadow. "Until we can confirm what our next strategy is to handle the third child of Sparda, none of you are to leave this realm until I return for new orders." He vanished before anyone could say anything.

Yep, this was Hell alright. Be ordered a few missions, eat or sleep, gamble over who can kill who or what, or fight each other to the death. For such long lives that we are granted, it was actually quite boring after what Sparda did to us. Things were more interesting back then before that traitorous scum of a demon had betrayed us.

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><p>Alright, yayyyy it was decent! Reviews would be sweet if you can please critique this chapter and I promise to have another one up ASAP before the end of the month!<p> 


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